While it is generally recognized that the Dutch played a prominent part in the world economy of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, most studies of Dutch long-distance shipping and trade have focused on Asia and neglected the Atlantic region. In this volume, eight scholars contribute their expertise on Dutch trade with Africa, the Americas and the West Indies, and demonstrate that Dutch trade in the Atlantic was far more extensive and valuable than has generally been assumed, and exceeded the trade with Asia at that time. Supported by extensive archival research and quantitative data, the study makes a strong appeal for a reassessment of Dutch maritime commerce of that period, and should stimulate further research of Dutch Atlantic trade. Riches from Atlantic Commerce has been selected by Choice as Outstanding Academic Title (2005). Contributors include: Christopher Ebert, Victor Enthoven, Henk den Heijer, Han Jordaan, Wim Klooster, Eric Willem van der Oest, Johannes Postma, Claudia Schnurmann, and Stuart B. Schwartz.
Heaven's Wrath explores the religious thought and religious rites of the early Dutch Atlantic world. D. L. Noorlander argues that the Reformed Church and the West India Company forged and maintained a close union, with considerable consequences across the seventeenth century. Noorlander questions the core assumptions about why the Dutch failed to establish a durable empire in America. He downplays the usual commercial explanations and places the focus instead on the tremendous expenses incurred in the Calvinist-backed war and the Reformed Church's meticulous, worried management of colonial affairs. By pinpointing the issues that hampered the size and import of the Dutch Atlantic world, Noorlander revises core notions about the organization and aims of the Dutch empire, the culture of the West India Company, and the very shape of Dutch society. Open Access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The Second Edition of this renowned treasure trove of information about the most important laws and treaties enacted by the U.S. Congress now deepens its historical coverage and examines an entire decade of new legislation. Landmark Legislation 1774-2012 includes additional acts and treaties chosen for their historical significance or their precedential importance for later areas of major federal legislative activity in the over 200 years since the convocation of the Continental Congress. Brand new chapters expand coverage to include the last five numbered Congresses (10 years of activity from 2003-2012), which has seen landmark legislation in the areas of health insurance and health care reform; financial regulatory reform; fiscal stimulus and the Temporary Asset Relief Program; federal support for stem cell research; reform of federal financial support for public schools and higher education; and much more. Features & Benefits: Each chapter covers one of the numbered Congresses with a historical essay, followed by the major acts of that Congress arranged in chronological order of passage – with each act summarized. A Finder’s Guide summarizes all of the acts and treaties into approximately 40 separate topical policy areas. The work’s extensive bibliography has been expanded and updated. This one-volume resource is a must-have for any public or academic library, especially those with strong American history or political science collections.